The release on July 20, 2007, of many of the country’s high-profile political detainees signaled the possible return to normal politics in Ethiopia. Following disputed parliamentary elections in May 2005, journalists and opposition leaders, mainly from the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), had been held in detention. Although most of the detainees were found guilty in June of having committed various crimes, Pres. Girma Wolde-Giyorgis pardoned 38 of them. The pardon restored the political rights of the CUD leaders to vote and stand for election. Two civil social activists, Netsanet Demissie (founder and director of the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia) and Daniel Bekele of ActionAid, were the only two defendants to mount a defense. The two were convicted and given two-and-a-half-year prison sentences in December; they had already served more than two years, however, and their supporters hoped that they would soon be released. Thousands of others were being detained elsewhere throughout the country. Meanwhile, the major urban centres of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa remained headed by caretaker administrations while their elected officials spent most of the year in prison.

Under the Julian calendar, in use in Ethiopia, September 12 marked the New Year and the start of the new millennium for the country. The long-awaited national census was completed in most areas in May and June, though counts in the Somali and Afar regions were postponed until November.

Worshippers at St. Ragouel Church in the Merkato neighbourhood of Addis Ababa, Eth., hold a …

AP

Inflation and ballooning consumer prices throughout 2007 put a strain on efforts to meet demands for economic development. Price increases on basic consumer products, including grains, cereals, and cooking oil, were nearly 100% in some cases. The Ethiopian economy grew at a rate of 6.3% in 2007, up from 5.9% in 2006. Most exports came from the agricultural sector, notably coffee, tea, spices, cereals, pulses, oil seed, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. In addition, tourism was expanding rapidly.

The World Bank continued to withhold direct budgetary support to the government and instead directed funds to the local level through its Protection of Basic Services program. Despite generally good harvests and improvements in markets and infrastructure, at least 7.3 million Ethiopians were considered in need of food assistance.

Localized incidents of conflict and violence continued to occur periodically, as did reports of human rights violations, particularly in the Oromiya and Somali regions. In April armed members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked a Chinese-run oil rig in eastern Ethiopia, killing 77 people (68 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese). The Ethiopian government reportedly blocked food aid to large parts of the Somali region and committed war crimes, which led a UN fact-finding mission in September to determine that the government and ONLF rebels were both responsible for human rights violations and that there was potential for a humanitarian crisis unless more was done to provide local communities with food and medicine.

The border dispute with Eritrea persisted with little change, and the UN Security Council extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission until 2008. In addition, Ethiopia and Eritrea supported opposing sides in the war in Somalia, feeding speculation that a regional war was possible, even likely.

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